governor romney is good. i'm just okay. >> and paul ryan played his own version. >> president obama is a gifted speaker. he's been on the national stage for many years. he's done these kinds of debates before. this is mitt's first time on this kind of a stage. >> but if all candidates are trying to lower expectations, maybe chris christie missed that memo. >> governor romney's going to lay out his vision for a better and greater america for greater opportunity for all of our citizens. and i think that's when you're going to see this race really start to tighten and move in governor romney's direction. come thursday morning, the entire narrative of this race is going to change. >> i want to bring in dana milbank and matt welsh. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> i suppose we shouldn't be surprised this race to lower expectations. give us your take on the expectations for this debate. >> romney needs something to happen for him. he's had a bad couple of weeks. ever since the 47% comment which i th